If You Cannot Teach Me To Fly, Teach Me To Sing
by PoppieJoy
Summary: She glanced drawlingly down at Chloe's lips, before looking into her eyes and asking with as much innocence as she could muster, "I'd like to give you a thimble." {one-shot}


It was dark in the theatre.

She didn't know where the light switches were and even if she'd wanted to turn them on, she wouldn't have known where she was going.

All she knew is that she needed to get out of there. And fast.

She'd found herself in the shut off theatre in less than three minutes, climbing through the window one of the cast members had left open. It had meant she'd entered backstage, amidst the sea of abandoned costumes and numerous neglected wigs, hairnets, stockings and tights. There had been props on every surface of every table, with detailed handwritten notes explaining exactly when each was needed on stage.

She could almost hear the sound of applause humming from the front of house and feel the secret buzzing of the adrenaline zapping through the atmosphere as the performers got ready to shine.

She'd never got into musical theatre.

The colour of the costumes reflected into the darkness of the backstage area, urging her to move closer – inspect them a little further than she's used to wanting. At first glance they were entirely ordinary. But the moment she caught sight of sky blue – a shade that she'd come to desperately crave – and endless golden streams curtsying like Princesses in front of her, she knew before her eyes had even reached the green label hooked on the top of the hanger that the golden letters etched so simply upon it would read the one name she'd been trying so frantically to ignore.

Chloe.

Chloe, she realised, as she stared delightedly at the innocent royal dress, was the only thing that made sense to her.

Chloe was, in every way a person can be, absolutely fascinating. And as much as she would hate to admit it, Beca Mitchell found it increasingly more difficult every single day, not to smile at the very mention of the girl's name.

Including now, as she stared captivatingly at Chloe's blue and gold number the girl was due to wear in Barden's upcoming production of Peter Pan, a stupid puppy-dog smile painted right across her rosy-cheeked face.

She could see why Chloe enjoyed spending time at this place. It was peaceful in its own way, even with the chaos it was surrounded by.

Turning the clothing in her left hand, she trailed the Chloe-stitched seams with the tips of her right fingers, marvelling at the way the girl just seemed to be excellent at everything. Like a little pixie fairy almost, but Beca didn't like to think of her in that way too much – Chloe wasn't anything but herself. Chloe.

(And since when did Beca Mitchell become such a sap?)

(And since when did Beca Mitchell start falling for a girl?)

She still found herself smiling as she knelt down towards the yellow box beneath Chloe's Wendy dress, scatterings of bobby pins and crumpled hair ties neatly boxed into one corner – Beca giggled at this very obvious sign of what she liked to call 'Chlo-C-D' – labelled with the date of purchase and the last date of use.

(Why? Because Chloe was perfect.)

She leant further forward to reach for the last bobby pin used and plucked the broken strand of red hair from its grasp. She studied it, trailing it through her fingers as if it was all of Chloe's red locks in her hands, trying to imagine what it would be like really doing that, yet at the same time, trying to work out whether she was okay with fantasizing over another chick like this.

If Beca was really that worried about thinking of Chloe in that kind of way, she didn't really show it as she continued to smile at the random strand of hair. She could just imagine Chloe skipping around in the blue dress she stitched for herself, giving everyone else the confidence they need rather than focussing on herself.

Selfless.

She'd have done her makeup hours before she was meant to and her hair would be perfectly half tied back with a small blue ribbon which she would have knotted together with her own perfect soft hands. She'd have fixed everyone else's hair for them, sprayed just the right amount of hairspray, touched up their mascara and their blusher and zipped nearly every character in to their costumes. Had there been children, Beca knew Chloe would be the one to calm their nerves. She'd have everyone stood round her in a circle, clapping hands and creating a rhythm, warming up their voices and their bodies, ready for their first appearance. She'd get every single actor to say their most difficult line and she'd help to make it easier. She'd find ways of giving everyone confidence, without losing her own. And she'd always make sure to learn everyone else's lines as well as her own. Just in case.

(Selfless, selfless, selfless.)

Chloe Beale, to Beca Mitchell, was nothing short of perfect.

And that was a problem.

The brunette moved slightly to her left to admire the costume for Peter. She giggled at the fact that her best friend, Jesse, had to wear a pair of green tights that were practically see-through. He really hated that and her endless teasing caused him sleepless nights.

(Or so he said. Beca was entirely convinced he made half of the things he said up.)

For a moment, Beca fell into her own daze, her grey blue eyes caught in the soul of Peter's red feather fixed upon his green hat. She thought about all the songs Jesse had been rehearsing with Chloe and thinking how unfair it was that he spent so much time away from her. But the more she thought about it, the more she realised she wasn't just jealous of him being with another girl – she was jealous of him being with Chloe.

And that's what led her mind to imagine how things would be if she was in those green tights and that red hat and singing that song that wooed innocent Wendy into Peter's arms.

She'd do anything to woo Chloe into her arms.

A door swung open behind her.

"Beca?"

The brunette threw herself instantly behind the rail of costumes, clumsily crashing straight into the stacked boxes of jazz shoes, all of them toppling over her like a stampede of wildebeest. She tried to hide herself behind them but one had been left behind and consequently trampled right across her face. She grimaced sheepishly.

"Beca, what are you doing here?" The other girl said, kneeling down to remove some of the fallen jazz shoes. "I saw you running out your dad's office but I didn't think you'd end up here."

Beca looked down at the floor, seething silently from the reminder of why she had to escape in the first place.

"Hey."

Beca felt her chin being lifted by fingers that felt so much softer than any others and she squinted her eyes as she dared to dive into the blue she knew she'd find there.

She wasn't expecting Chloe to look as concerned as she did.

"What's going on in there?" The redhead asked gently, tilting her forehead forward so it nudged Beca's. The brunette closed her eyes at the closeness she suddenly found herself in.

She wanted it so bad but this definitely wasn't helping.

"Chloe," Beca whispered desperately, opening her eyes. She wanted it to sound threatening but instead it came out more as a whine. She sighed and closed her eyes again.

She felt Chloe pause for a moment, before she reached for Beca's wrists and pulled her to her feet.

"Come on," She said, a hint of playfulness in her blue eyes, "Follow me."

She plucked Jesse's Peter Pan hat from its place and linked Beca's fingers through her own, dragging her towards The Green Room. Beca wanted to tell her to stop, but there was something in the way Chloe smiled at her just then that made her feel like she would do anything the woman said. And over and over again.

They snuck straight through The Green Room and through another door painted black, which Beca assumed led to the stage. She gasped slightly since she was sure they weren't allowed on the stage at night. But there was something incredibly calm about Chloe which made the brunette realise that she could do the most illegal things and as long as Chloe was by her side, holding her hand with her own, she wouldn't mind the trouble they'd undoubtedly get into.

The auditorium was even darker than the dressing room. And it was only when Beca found herself stuck behind one of the dark stage wings she realised Chloe was no longer holding her hand and the green hat she'd been holding was now perched on her head. She didn't know where Chloe had disappeared to. All she knew was that the heavy breathing and the softest faint shadow skipping magically from one side of the wing to the other was making her calmer than she'd ever been before.

She tried to follow Chloe's skipping by listening to her footsteps and following her shadow. But she was quick on her feet and it was proving difficult. She eventually made her way out onto the stage, surprised by how silent it was. How peaceful – almost like snowfall at midnight. She circled her head from left to right, gently giggling every time she caught a glimpse of where Chloe was hiding.

"What are you doing?" Beca asked, hating how her voice cut straight through the silence.

There was no answer.

Instead, she felt two caring arms wrap delicately (yet so strong) around her waist, pulling her backwards into a warmth she'd not yet had the pleasure of feeling. She felt herself relax right into Chloe's hold, even though she gasped a little at the surprise. If this was anyone else playing around with her in a dark auditorium like this, she'd think they were the lamest people she'd ever met. But because it was Chloe and because Chloe was, well… Chloe – she didn't mind so much.

In fact, she kinda liked it.

"Chloe?" She whispered, after a while, craning her neck to the right. "What are you doing?"

She felt Chloe smile against her temple. "Hugging you."

Beca laughed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know that." She sobered a little and faced forward. "But why are you running away from me?"

Chloe's pause was nearly enough to knock every ounce of oxygen out of her. And when she answered, she couldn't tell if she was either happy or incredibly confused.

"So you can follow me."

Beca thought it was probably both. And before she could answer, Chloe was off again, running behind the curtain of the stage and deeper into it.

This time, she did follow.

It was hard to see in the dark and this time Chloe was offering no hints as to where she was, so Beca merely walked hesitantly around the furniture stored at the back of the stage, giggling as she went. She couldn't quite believe Chloe was making her do this.

She was about to ask Chloe to come back out but the red head snuck up right behind her once again. Beca twisted around in shock and clung to Chloe's biceps tightly.

"Chloe."

The redhead giggled cheekily, yet amused. She leant her forehead towards Beca's again and lifted her palm so it landed softly on Beca's right cheek. The air around them suddenly became thick with apprehension.

Beca told herself not to make a single move. God forbid she scare Chloe with the things she was imagining in her head.

With one swift movement, Chloe used her other hand to swipe the hat off Beca's head and place it on her own, before leaning closer and whispering, "Forget them, Beca. Forget them all. Come with me where you'll never, never have to worry about grown up things again."

The smile Chloe gave her could be seen through the darkest night sky, it was so illuminated and bright. Beca smiled back, placing her own hand over the one Chloe had cupped Beca's face with. She wanted so badly to reply but she was unsure what the meaning behind the redhead's words was. Beca couldn't tell if she was merely reciting Jesse's lines or trying to tell Beca something she'd wanted to hear for a really long time.

"Come on, silly, you know what comes next." Chloe pushed, laughing so close to Beca's face, she could feel her breath pour sweetly onto her lips.

Beca raised her eyebrows in disbelief. She opened her mouth to reply which made Chloe nearly over bubble with excitement.

Beca smirked. She knew she'd lost it.

"Never," She began, still smirking, "is an awfully long time."

Chloe grinned so big, Beca thought her face would fall off. It was so bright and so beautiful and so, so magical.

"Here," Chloe whispered, leaning back to take Beca's hand.

A small stage bed – Beca assumed it was meant to be Wendy's - was stored neatly at the back of the stage, the curtains drawn tightly around it. Chloe led her to the foot of it, pulling her close so that if you were to stand in front of them, you'd simply see their silhouettes dancing so still together with the darkness of the stage.

"Follow me," Chloe whispered again, this time mere breaths away from Beca's lips.

The brunette could swear her heart was beating so loud it could be heard all over campus. And her breathing was so erratic; at any moment she could fall to the floor and pass out.

As always, Chloe didn't let that happen.

She took both her hands and placed them on Beca's hips. Tingles erupted from every corner of her hip bones. Pushing ever so lightly, Chloe felt the backs of Beca's knees hit the foot of the bed.

She giggled. "Lie down."

Beca did as she said, feeling excitement pool in the pit of her belly – the kind of turn on she thought she hadn't felt for an incredibly long time yet was always there whenever Chloe was around. The kind of turn on which felt like the bottom of your belly was empty, yet so full of butterflies you could swear you could fly.

Maybe that's what Beca was doing now. Flying.

(Jesus, where was all this sappy crap coming from?)

She shook her head of thoughts and concentrated on the beautiful girl leaning on all fours above her. She couldn't see much of Chloe – just her red hair, her bright smile and those bright blue eyes, sparkling with care and lust – an odd, yet extremely comforting combination to Beca.

Chloe settled herself on top of Beca, reaching her hand up to tuck the stray tousles of hair away. She still had the green hat on and it made Beca giggle a little, so she reached up to tug it off, marvelling at the way Chloe's hair just seemed to fall beautifully into place. She suddenly felt panicked at how close they were and about what they were actually doing but just as she was about to sit up and walk away, Chloe brought their faces together and clutched her fingers around Beca's straying wrist.

"Is this okay?" Chloe asked, her lips so close to Beca's, searching her eyes for any signs of disinterest or fear, looking almost as scared as Beca felt.

The brunette felt herself nodding before she'd even thought about her answer.

But still, Chloe remained close to her, eyes still searching, lips still trembling. "May…" She cut herself off and looked down. When she looked back up, she tried again. "May I-?"

Beca smirked, suddenly feeling like Chloe was struggling with this just as much as she was. She thought back to the book her mother had read to her as a child and smiled affectionately. She glanced drawlingly down at Chloe's lips, before looking into her eyes and asking with as much innocence as she could muster,

"I'd like to give you a thimble."

Then after she said it, she felt such a weight being lifted but such a weight being loaded back on. And she wasn't entirely sure why.

"I mean, I… um, I…"

"Beca," Chloe whispered, the hints of a smile forming at the corners of her mouth. The brunette looked straight at her with what felt like her whole body trembling with nerves. She could see the stars glistening in the redhead's eyes and it made her feel so helpless inside. "Beca, I would love a thimble."

The brunette had never felt so warmed by someone in all her life. Not only was she completely overwhelmed by Chloe's ignorance towards personal space, she was also overwhelmed by how much emotion she was capable of feeling – especially towards someone else and especially that someone else being a girl.

(Beca Mitchell had never been more emotional in all her life.)

She felt nothing but that same empty but full turned on feeling she'd got earlier when Chloe's lips finally reached hers and pulled her bottom lip between her own. She felt the length of her arms and her legs go weak with desire – like she didn't quite know what to do with herself in that moment, how she should feel, what she should do, when she should do it. This feeling was all so new to her.

And Chloe had just brushed her lips.

The redhead sucked so gently on every surface of the brunette's lips, cupping them with the softest touch as if to make sure it was still what she wanted – what they both wanted.

It was. And Beca made sure Chloe knew that.

She dipped her head further into the redhead's neck, holding her mouth open for a few seconds longer because how could she not when Chloe was trailing her teeth along the edges of her bottom lip and breathing hot air into the corners of her everything.

She felt the hot air even more so when Chloe lifted her head to whisper fervently into her ear, "I really, really like you, Beca."

It made the brunette whimper and for the first time, she realised she'd done it without even thinking about it. She wanted to be embarrassed, but Chloe planted her smile into the right hand corner of Beca's mouth and kissed it.

If Beca wasn't already turned on, she definitely was when Chloe started kissing her neck, sucking gently and nipping like she knew the effect she was having on the brunette. When she reached that dip between her collarbone - that place where your neck meets your shoulder – Beca had to bite down so hard on her bottom lip, holding in a squirming whimper which was threatening to escape at any moment.

The girl had barely even touched her and she felt like she could explode at any minute.

"Chloe, Jesus…"

The redhead smiled as she continued to kiss the brunette's shoulder. "Can I take this off?"

Beca's eyes shot open momentarily before she smirked and nodded a definite yes, lifting her chest slightly off the bed to help her. Her eyes deepened with lust at the sound of Chloe's breath hitch and she lay back down for the girl to get a better look.

She'd never felt more sexy in all her life.

She watched as Chloe continued to stare, inching her own top further up her torso. Beca smiled what she hoped was a reassuring smile and bit her lip when Chloe tugged her top off, leaving her in nothing but a bright pink bra.

(Beca had hated that colour up until now.)

When Chloe fell back on top of her, their bare torsos made her feel completely invincible and she had no idea why. And when Chloe leant down to kiss her torso, she felt like she was taking flight. She wanted more and she wanted less all at the same time.

Briefly she thought about all the other times she'd slept with guys and wondered why they'd never made her take flight before.

And then she wondered why she was thinking about flying when she had a beautiful girl fallen on top of her.

She brought Chloe's lips back up to hers, which made them both giggle clumsily. The redhead raked her fingers through the brunette's hair and pulled her closer, gently flicking her tongue into the other girl's mouth, waiting for the reaction.

Beca moaned happily and pulled Chloe even closer.

She didn't think she'd ever been this close to anyone.

Beca felt her whole abdomen shudder involuntarily when Chloe reached behind her to unclasp her black bra. She stilled, in fear that the girl wouldn't like what she'd see under the material. Beca closed her eyes tightly as Chloe pulled back, kissing her nose and then tracing her lips with her finger.

"Beca, am I allowed?"

Beca swallowed. Since when did she become so insecure?

"Hey, it's okay," Chloe hushed, lifting her chin to her face like earlier.

It suddenly made Beca remember where they were and she hastily rushed out, "Shit, we're not gonna get caught are we?"

As she made a move to get up, once again Chloe held her wrist and locked her in place, leaning her forehead down and smiling.

"Beca," She whispered, smiling down into the brunette's grey-blue eyes. "We're okay."

Beca pinned her eyes into Chloe's, looking for the uncertainty – the lies – but it never came.

She nodded and just as quickly as it vanished, with the simple brush of Chloe's fingertip against her breast bone, she was back to where she'd been, falling effortlessly into Chloe's heart.

Falling, falling, falling.

Deeper, deeper, deeper.

She kissed the redhead with a desperate passion as Chloe removed her bra, keen to know what it would feel like to have those soft hands upon her chest. Pushing, rubbing, holding.

She groaned at just the thought.

Chloe removed her own bra like it was a dance she'd perfected just now. Like an improvisation she'd never thought to work on before. It made Beca want to hold her so close.

She held her firmer when Chloe's chest met hers, dancing together as the kissed, both of them falling further into the other's voids. They created a rhythm which Beca had never experienced before – she didn't realise you could make music with someone else and just their body, without any laptop, or pre-recorded beat, or written out lyrics. It was the best mix she'd ever created.

Beca gasped loudly when Chloe's lips enveloped her nipple, writhing under the intensity of how hot it made her feel in her lower belly.

Chloe continued to toy with her nipple, as if she'd done it thousands of times before. But Beca knew she hadn't purely from the way her lips shook when they returned to kissing her mouth.

"Chloe, it's okay, I like that." She whispered into the redhead's lips. They both smiled.

It was this kind of kissing that was new to Beca Mitchell. Because it was the kind of kissing that made her forget everything that had been happening recently. And the kind that found her and her lover pant-less, on a fake prop bed on a dark stage in the middle of her university campus.

The kind of kiss that found her naked and wet and all kinds of turned on she'd never been before.

Chloe was completely clothes-less above her and with the sight of her moving with every dip and kiss, Beca knew she was gone. She'd fallen and she'd fallen hard. And because she knew that, she knew she wasn't scared when her hand found itself millimetres away from the girl's centre, itching to dive into what she knew would be heaven.

"Beca," Chloe whispered hotly against her ear. "Please,"

The brunette pressed her fingers that little way forward until they reached where they'd been headed. Hot heat attacked her hand like it had been desperate for it and it made Beca jump. But Chloe kissed her chin and then her lips and Beca forgot what she was so scared of. She knew she'd never done this before and she knew that she had no idea what Chloe even wanted but she still found herself pressing her fingers a little harder and moving them in small but tight circles.

It made Chloe moan and it was sweeter than Beca could have ever imagined.

She was so caught up in rubbing these circles into Chloe that when Chloe started doing the same to her, it felt like someone had just wiped her brain from her head. For she could not think of a single coherent thing that would make sense to anyone in that moment.

"Chloe, fuck,"

Chloe's smiled into Beca's lips and they rested their foreheads together, looking into each other's eyes as the circles got tighter and tighter and tighter.

"Beca, I've never done this before." Chloe whispered, worry evident in her eyes.

Beca leant forward to kiss her. "Neither have I, so I think we're good."

"Feels… really… nice," Chloe breathed, biting her bottom lip. "Ugh, can you-?"

Beca rubbed faster, whispering a short, "I know," and kissing her again with fever.

"Oh shit," Chloe gasped, gripping the bed head with one hand and continuing to touch Beca with the other.

"Shit, fuck, this has never felt so good before."

"Chloe, shh, it's okay, stop talking," Beca said, feeling her own heat build up. "Fuck."

She cupped Chloe's centre and pushed upwards, watching as the redhead almost rode her palm, muffling her moans with her mouth, so they tumbled straight into her lips. Just as Beca pulled back, her eyes caught in amazement, Chloe crumpled above her, her fingers shaking at Beca's centre. The brunette found it so beautiful that the girl was so vulnerable, she leant forward and kissed her again.

"Beca," Chloe whispered through their kisses, "Let yourself go, please,"

They both gasped as Chloe pushed herself a little harder into Beca and let out a moan they were both sure could be heard for quite a way away.

Beca clasped her eyes tightly shut, clinging to Chloe and holding her breath.

"Shit."

Chloe giggled a breathy kind of giggle. Of course she would.

"I think you gave me more than a thimble just then."

Beca smiled but kept her eyes shut. "I gave you the whole fucking sewing box, Beale."

The redhead pretended to be offended. "Mitchell, I object." She said, "You did not have to give away that much, I simply asked for a thimble."

Beca opened her eyes lazily and twirled a red lock of hair between her fingers. She smiled hazily. "What would the use of a thimble be if it had no thread and needle to work with?"

Chloe bit her lip and smiled really big. "You're good. You're very good."

"I know," Beca smirked.

A silence encountered them and through the darkness, it suddenly became all too apparent that they were both naked. And breathing hard. And extremely sweaty.

Everything Beca had been trying to avoid with Chloe.

"What now?" She asked, worrying her lips between her teeth.

Chloe smiled. "We get dressed." Beca snorted lightly. Chloe giggled and continued. "We tidy this bed, we put the hat back on its stand, and we go back out the window and then…" She floated off, lost in thought, her eyebrows adorably scrunched together.

Beca really wanted to kiss them back into place.

"And then…"

"And then," Beca supplied for her, her voice as quiet as moonlight. "We kiss goodnight?"

The grin on Chloe's face was enough to bring a small one to Beca's. "Oh, Beca, that would be absolutely perfect!"

"Yeah?"

"Oh, Beca, you have no idea, I would love that so much!"

"So you don't want a thimble?"

"What?" Chloe's face turned so serious in so little time that Beca had to laugh.

"Dude," She said, sitting up and letting her lips hover whispers away from Chloe's. "I'll give you a kiss, yeah. But I'd also like to give you another thimble. And then after that, I'd really, really like to give you the rest of my sewing box. Again. And I'd like to keep giving you my thimbles and my needles and my threads and my scissors, and my-"

Beca stopped because Chloe was laughing.

"What?"

"You'd like to keep giving me your scissors?" Chloe's smirk made Beca blush and without another word, she picked her bra from beside her and pinged it into the other girl's face.

"I was trying to be all emotional, Beale, and you just ruined it with that dirty mind of yours!"

Chloe was still laughing when she replied, "But Beca, you don't understand." She stopped to drop a wink in Beca's direction. "I would love your scissors."

Beca swallowed. "You would?"

The redhead giggle and took Beca's hand in her own. "As long as I live." And then she lowered her tone and brought her face much closer to the shadows of Beca's.

"After all, to live will be an awfully big adventure."


End file.
